Plastic Container Hinged Snap Lid

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a reusable plastic container. The container comprises a container body having side walls, end walls, and a bottom. It further includes a hinged lid with lid sections, each section having a hinged edge and at least one free edge. A hinge connects the hinged edge of a lid section to a side wall of the container body. The lid section includes a snap element engageable with a container body end wall. The snap element is configured such that inward pressure applied to an end or side wall of the container body causes the snap element to have greater engagement with the container body to increase the lid&#39;s resistance to opening when subjected to an impact.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/354,884, filed Jun. 15, 2010, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a reusable plastic containerhaving a lid configured to increase resistance to opening when subjectedto an impact.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Reusable plastic containers have in recent years been used to store andtransport goods and materials via air, highway, and rail. Such goods andmaterials run the gamut from general merchandise, health and beautyaids, automotive parts, and grocery items. The containers are also usedduring manufacturing processes to move workpieces and in distributionfacilities to move products. These containers are often moved onconveyor systems. Plastic containers vary in size to accommodate thegoods or materials intended to be stored in them. Common sizes include11″×15″×9″, 21″×15″×9″, 21″×15″×12″, and 24″×20″×12″, with larger sizesalso available.

Reusable containers typically last for over 250 trips making them morecost effective than cardboard or other disposable containers. They areoften stackable both when full and also when empty for efficienttransport in a truck trailer and storage on a warehouse floor. Plasticcontainers are recyclable, and therefore, environmentally friendly.

Plastic containers often have hinged covers that are designed to preventloss of product contained therein during transport and storage, and tobe easily opened to provide access to the interior of the container. Thecontainers can be designed to cooperate with plastic pallets forefficient and stable transport and storage.

It has been found that current plastic container designs with hingedlids have an unwanted tendency to open when subjected to inwardpressure, such as while being conveyed. This commonly occurs as a resultof containers impacting one another during end-to-end conveyance, orfrom containers impacting conveyor rails. Pressure on the containerscauses the hinged lids to separate, thus exposing the container'scontents, and increasing the chances of content contamination or loss.The hinged snap lid of the present invention addresses these and otherproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a reusable plastic container. Thecontainer comprises a container body having side walls, end walls, and abottom. It further includes a hinged lid with lid sections, each sectionhaving a hinged edge and at least one free edge. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, a hinge connects the hinged edge of a lid section toa side wall of the container body. The lid section includes a snapelement engageable with a container body end wall. The snap element isconfigured such that inward pressure applied to an end or side wall ofthe container body causes the snap element to have greater engagementwith the container body to increase the lid's resistance to opening whensubjected to an impact.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification taken in conjunction with the following Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reusable plastic container embodyingthe snap lid of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reusable plastic container embodying thesnap lid of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a snap lid in accord with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a reusable plastic container embodying the snaplid of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the underside of a snap lid in accordwith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a snap lid in accord with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a reusable plastic container in accordwith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of a container in accord with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a detailed view of a snap lid in accord with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many differentforms, there is shown in the Figures, and will herein be described indetail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reusable plastic container body 10embodying a hinged snap lid 12 in accord with the present invention. Thecontainer body 10 has two side walls 14, two end walls 16, and a bottom18. The lid 12 has two lid sections 20 and 22. The lid sections 20 and22 each have hinged edges 24 and free edges 28, 30 and 32. The hingededges 24 of the lid sections 20 and 22 are attached to opposingcontainer side walls 14 by hinges 34.

Referencing FIGS. 2 through 7, in accord with an embodiment of theinvention, each lid section 20 or 22 includes a snap element 36preferably on the free edge 32 adjacent an end wall 16. The free edge 32has a lip 38. The snap element 36 comprises a protuberance 42 on theinner surface of lip 38, which engages a rib 40 in the end wall 16. Theprotuberance 42 is sized such that when the container body 10 is in astationary or neutral position, the protuberance 42 engages the rib 40with sufficient clearance such that minimal force is required to open orclose the lid sections 20 and 22. This is described in greater detailbelow. In an embodiment, the lip 38 is attached to a raised portion 43,which is made integral with the lid section 20 or 22 through an innerwall 45 opposite lip 38.

The protuberance 42 may extend along all or any portion of the length ofthe end wall 16. The rib 40 may likewise correspondingly extend alongthat same length. A plurality or ribs 40 and protuberances 42 may bespaced along the length of the end wall 16.

Typically during conveying, container bodies 10 are placed end-to-endsuch that the lids 12 or end walls 16 of adjacent containers impact eachother. Because the side walls 14 and end walls 16 taper outwardly fromthe bottom 18, the containers 10 impact each other nearest the lid 12,resulting in an inward pressure on the lid 12 or end walls 16. Wheninward pressure 44 is applied to the lid 12 or end wall 16 at one end ofthe container body 10, the protuberance 42 at that end is forced inwardtoward the end wall 16 to cause greater engagement of protuberance 42with the rib 40, thus increasing the force required to open or close lidsections 20 or 22. This increased force makes the lid sections 20 or 22more difficult to open, effectively locking the lid 12 to the containerbody 10, thus making the container body 10 resistant to contamination orloss of contents.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show details of the interaction between the protuberance42 and rib 40 when the lid 12 is in a neutral condition, and when thecontainer body 10 is impacted from either end wall 16. FIG. 8 shows thecontainer body 10 and hinges 24. The hinges 24 have spacing 48 such thatthey allow the lid 12 to shift horizontally when subjected to an impactat either end wall 16. As shown in FIG. 8, in an embodiment of theinvention, the spacing is approximately 0.063 inches.

FIG. 9 shows details of areas A and B at opposite ends of the containerbody 10 of FIG. 8 when the lid 12 is in the neutral position, i.e., whenthe container body 10 is not impacted, when the lid 12 is shifted rightdue to an impact at the left end wall 16, or when the lid 12 is shiftedleft due to an impact at the right end wall 16. When the lid 12 is inthe neutral position, the protuberance 42 and rib 40 at each end A and Bof the container body 10 overlap approximately 0.063 inches.

An impact at the left end wall 16 causing the lid 12 to shift to theright results in an overlap of the protuberance 42 and rib 40 at theleft end A of approximately 0.126 inches. The overlap effectively locksthe lid 12 to the container body 10 to prevent the lid 12 from poppingopen during the impact. The shift of the lid 12 to the right eliminatesthe overlap between the rib 40 and protuberance 42 at the right end B.Alternatively, an impact at the right end wall 16 causes the lid 12 toshift to the left resulting in an overlap at the right end B ofapproximately 0.126 inches. Again, the overlap effectively locks the lid12 to the container body 10 to prevent the lid 12 from popping openduring the impact. The shift of the lid 12 to the left eliminates theoverlap between the rib 40 and protuberance 42 at the left end A. In analternative embodiment, inward pressure 46 on a side wall 14 could causethe end wall 16 to move outwardly from its normal position, also causinggreater engagement between the protuberance 42 and rib 40. While theembodiment shown indicates the rib 40 and protuberance 42 are locatedalong the end walls 16 of the container body 10, it will be understoodthat the rib 40 and protuberance 42 may also be located along the sidewalls 14. It is also understood that lid sections 20 and 22 may eachhave a snap element at each of the end walls 16.

While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described,numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing fromthe spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limitedby the scope of the accompanying Claims.

1. A reusable plastic container, the container comprising: a containerbody having side walls, end walls, and a bottom; a lid providing accessto container contents, the lid including lid sections; and a snapelement engaging at least one lid section and at least one of thecontainer body side walls or end walls, the snap element having aneutral position and an impact position, the snap element having greaterengagement with the lid section when in the impact position.
 2. Thereusable plastic container of claim 1 wherein the at least one lidsection includes a lip having an inner surface, and the at least one ofthe container body side walls or end walls includes a rib, and whereinthe snap element includes a protuberance on the inner surface of the lipof the at least one lid section, the protuberance overlapping the rib onthe at least one of the container body side walls or end walls.
 3. Thereusable plastic container of claim 1 wherein each lid section includesa hinged edge having a plurality of hinges, the hinges being spaced topermit the lid section to shift horizontally between the neutralposition and the impact position.
 4. The reusable plastic container ofclaim 2 wherein the protuberance and rib overlap to a greater extentwhen in the impact position than in the neutral position.
 5. Thereusable plastic container of claim 2 wherein the rib and protuberanceare in a neutral position, and wherein the overlap between theprotuberance and rib in the neutral position is in the range ofapproximately 0.05 inches to 0.075 inches.
 6. The reusable plasticcontainer of claim 2 wherein the rib and protuberance are in an impactposition, and wherein the overlap between the protuberance and rib inthe impact position is in the range of approximately 0.10 inches to 0.15inches.
 7. A reusable plastic container, the container comprising: acontainer body having side walls, end walls, and a bottom; a hinged lidproviding access to container contents, the lid having lid sections,each section having a hinged edge; a hinge connecting the hinged edge ofeach lid section to a side wall of the container body; and each lidsection including a snap element engageable with a container body endwall, the snap element having a neutral position and an impact position,the snap element having greater engagement when in the impact position.8. The reusable plastic container of claim 7 wherein the snap element isconfigured to have greater engagement with the container body wheninward pressure is applied to the lid.
 9. The reusable plastic containerof claim 7 wherein inward pressure applied to a side wall of thecontainer body causes the snap element to have greater engagement withthe container body.
 10. The reusable plastic container of claim 7wherein the lid sections each include a lip having an inner surface, andthe end walls each include a rib, and wherein the snap element includesa protuberance on the inner surface of the lips of the lid sections, theprotuberance overlapping the ribs on the container body end wall. 11.The reusable plastic container of claim 7 wherein the hinge is spaced topermit the lid section to shift horizontally when inward pressure isapplied to an end wall of the container body.
 12. The reusable plasticcontainer of claim 10 wherein the protuberance and rib overlap to agreater extent when inward pressure is applied to an end wall of thecontainer body.
 13. The reusable plastic container of claim 10 whereinthe rib and protuberance are in a neutral position, and wherein theoverlap between the protuberance and rib in the neutral position is inthe range of approximately 0.05 inches to 0.075 inches.
 14. The reusableplastic container of claim 10 wherein the rib and protuberance are in animpact position, and wherein the overlap between the protuberance andrib in the impact position is in the range of approximately 0.10 inchesto 0.15 inches.
 15. A reusable plastic container, the containercomprising: a container body having side walls, end walls, and a bottom;a hinged lid providing access to container contents, the lid having lidsections, each section having a hinged edge with a plurality of hinges,wherein the hinges are spaced to permit the lid section to shifthorizontally between a neutral position and an impact position; and asnap element engaging each lid section with one of the container bodyend walls, the snap element having greater engagement when the lid is inthe impact position than in the neutral position.
 16. The reusableplastic container of claim 15 wherein the lid sections each include alip having an inner surface, a raised portion connected to the lip, andan inner wall connected to the raised portion, and wherein the containerbody end walls each include a rib, and wherein the snap element includesa protuberance on the inner surface of the lip of the lid sections, theprotuberance overlapping the rib on the container body end walls. 17.The reusable plastic container of claim 16 wherein the protuberance andrib overlap to a greater extent when the lid section is in the impactposition than in the neutral position.
 18. The reusable plasticcontainer of claim 15 wherein each lid section has a snap element ateach end wall.
 19. The reusable plastic container of claim 16 whereinthe rib and protuberance are in a neutral position, and wherein theoverlap between the protuberance and rib in the neutral position is inthe range of approximately 0.05 inches to 0.075 inches.
 20. The reusableplastic container of claim 16 wherein the rib and protuberance are in animpact position, and wherein the overlap between the protuberance andrib in the impact position is in the range of approximately 0.10 inchesto 0.15 inches.